First Parish Church in Taunton to dedicate land as wildlife habitat

Sunday

A piece of the downtown Taunton landscape is set for designation as a wildlife habitat.

A piece of the downtown Taunton landscape is set for designation as a wildlife habitat.

The land of the historic First Parish Church will be dedicated next weekend as a “Certified Wildlife Habitat” by the nonprofit National Wildlife Federation, said Barry Sanders, the director of religious education at the church.

“I think this makes a statement to our community that this is something we are committed to,” Sanders said. “We want to make a statement about being good stewards to the environment. Sometimes when we speak about environmental issues it’s about giant parcels of land and global issues, but really we are talking about something as simple as providing land for native animals and plants to grow. It’s about making space available in your community for our other living creatures.”

Sanders said that members of the parish have been working together as part of an intergenerational group to spread awareness and to help make sure the church grounds meet the requirements for a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Taunton-based Girl Scout Troop number 85328 has been helping out as well, building birdhouses out of recycled materials and creating “yarn bundles” that dispense bits of thread for nest building.

To receive the Certified Wildlife Habitat designation, Sanders said, the parish recently had to prove to the National Wildlife Federation the church grounds are a source for food (foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds), there is a water supply there, that the property provides natural cover and there is space to raise young animals.

The First Parish Church in Taunton will be joining nearly 140,000 Certified Wildlife Habitat sites around the country, according to the National Wildlife Federation website.

Sanders said the church property is already the home to many creatures, such as raccoons, owls, a nesting hawk in one of the trees, “a ton” of bats, bees and butterflies. Sanders said the bats live peacefully in the church’s bell tower.

“You’d be surprised in downtown Taunton the amount of wildlife is around here,” Sanders said. “We’re just looking at how to leverage this piece of property, to be better stewards and provide a little oasis to wildlife in downtown Taunton.”

Sanders said the wildlife designation also provides a teaching moment. Sanders said the designation is consistent with the seventh of seven principals held by the Unitarian Universalist Church, of which the First Parish Church is a part, to “respect the interdependent web of all existence.”

A dedication ceremony commemorating the wildlife habitat designation will be taking place on Sunday, and the church will be placing a plaque marking the designation, said Pastor Christana Wille McKnight. The event will start at 11 a.m. outside at the downtown church, she said.

McKnight said in addition to the birdhouses — and a birdbath that the church already owns — there will also be some blueberry bushes that will be planted soon on the property. McKnight said the wildlife certification process allowed the church to get many of the kids involved.

Mackenzie Scott, 10, a member of the local Girl Scout troop, said that she and her fellow scouts are bringing in vegetation that will work as a magnet for butterflies.

“We’re going to plant certain flowers to attract butterflies,” Scott said. “It would be nice to see butterflies.”

Contact Marc Larocque at mlarocque@tauntongazette.com

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